The refugee and immigration crises around the world have been mined for content and stories, both real and fictitious, for several years now. And while common themes like racism, poverty, and war have been explored quite a few times, the feeling of detachment and isolation hasn't been given nearly as much attention or depth. That … Continue reading Stuck in the Middle Refuge – Limbo
If you're a follower of this blog, you've probably read a review or two where I criticized a film for not going far enough with its premise. Sometimes it's a prestige film that pulls it punches, and sometimes it's more escapist popcorn fare that only goes crazy in the dumbest ways rather than entertaining ones. … Continue reading iLoveIt – The Mitchells vs. The Machines
It's basically been a year since I've gotten to do this. In June 2020 I fell behind by two weeks, with the intent of doing a column in July, because that's when theatre chains were initially planning to open back up. But then everything went even further into the shit, reopening schedules were completely scrapped, … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – May 2021
If you didn't watch Sesame Street going up, you either had a very deprived childhood, or you were born well before the 1960s. Just like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, the Muppet/Human hybrid show was a staple of the PBS lineup for pretty much all of us in our formative years. Whether your favorite was Big Bird, … Continue reading Big Bird is the Word – Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
The original Mortal Kombat movie came out on my 13th birthday. It's a day I remember distinctly, because honestly it's extremely rare for good movies to get released that particular week in mid-August. The "blockbuster" season is effectively over, and the studios aren't ready to start putting out the prestige fare just yet, so for … Continue reading BANALITY! – Mortal Kombat
Okay. I've had a couple days to decompress. I've given myself what I believe to be the appropriate amount of time to process what I and a significantly reduced number of people saw on Sunday night (ratings were down 58% from last year, which was the previous lowest-rated ceremony ever). I can take stock, and … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Postmortem
One of my all-time favorite films is a fairly recent one, the 2007 quirky comedy, Juno. I loved Diablo Cody's writing, I loved the humor, I loved the realistic humanity of the characters, and I absolutely loved the largely platonic relationship between the title character and Jason Bateman, the prospective adoptive father of her child. … Continue reading I Love Lamp – Together Together
It's finally here! After the worst year ever and two extra months of anticipation, it's finally time for the Oscars! At long last we can answer the truly burning questions. Who will win? What jokes will make us roll our eyes? Does anyone care about the dresses? The answer to the last one is its … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Live Diary
Tomorrow night is Oscar Night, where the ostensible best in film will be celebrated with the industry's highest honor. However, as is tradition, on the eve of the ceremony, the world recognizes the absolute bottom of the barrel with the Golden Raspberry Awards! For the second straight year, I paid for a membership so I … Continue reading Absolute Poop – 41st Razzie Awards!
We're less than 48 hours from the Academy Awards, which means it's time to finally put up or shut up and predict what films and artists will actually take home the gold on Sunday. We've spent the last month poring over every nominee, analyzing the pros and cons to come to a conclusion as to … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Who Will Win?
I Actually Paid To See This 